Education using e-learning methodology at a higher education level – potential for supporting regional cooperation and promoting of a European Learning Space in the interdisciplinary field of sustainable development

Abstract

In the sphere of higher education, the ability to communicate and collaborate across the boundaries of a nation, culture and discipline is one of the basic competences required for sustainable development. A multi-dimensional approach that addresses both the academic community and local/regional actors and decision-makers is needed, and thematic networks of diverse regional partners are often built to cooperate on practical issues that require particular expertise and/or have a learning dimension. Because of this network character, the complex issue of sustainable development can be inter-related to the use of information and communication technologies (ICT) and tools, and virtual collaborative learning used as an ideal learning environment to develop trans-boundary abilities, so that the participants experience differences in perspective in a very direct way and have to come to a joint solution of any given problem.

WHEELER, S. (2008a) All Changing: The Social Web and the Future of Higher Education (a tale of two keynotes) Keynote speech for the Virtual University: Models, Tools and Practice Conference, Technical University of Warsaw, Poland, 2008.